Skip to Main Content

ENG 231 Floyd

Covers selected works in American literature from its beginnings to 1865, with an emphasis on historical background, cultural context and literary analysis of prose, poetry, and drama.
  • URL: https://libguides.cfcc.edu/ENG231-Floyd
  • Print Page
  • Search for Books

    Gale Literary Criticism BooksBrowse in the

    PS

    section for books by and about American authors, or search the Encore catalog below.

    Scholarly Articles vs. Popular Magazine Articles

    Periodical publications such as magazines, newspapers and journals vary in quality and depth of coverage. Instructors will frequently want you to select articles from scholarly journals (sometimes called "refereed" or "peer-reviewed" journals, though the terms don't mean exactly the same thing). This video offers some tips on how to tell a scholarly journal from a popular periodical.

    Scholarly Articles vs. Popular Magazine Articles

    Periodical publications such as magazines, newspapers and journals vary in quality and depth of coverage. Instructors will frequently want you to select articles from scholarly journals (sometimes called "refereed" or "peer-reviewed" journals, though the terms don't mean exactly the same thing).

    Click the image below to watch a short (3min) video on how to tell the difference between scholarly articles and popular magazine articles.

    For more detail, try our guide:

    The Power of * and "__"

    Truncation allows you to search variables of a word by typing part of the word plus an asterisk *

    ADOPT finds just adopt, but ADOPT* finds adopted, adopting, adoptions, etc.

    WOMAN finds just woman, but WOM*N finds woman and women.

     

    Enclose your words in  quotation marks to create a phrase search.

    CHILDREN OF MEN finds 90 titles with some combination of those words

    "CHILDREN OF MEN" finds only the book and movie with that exact title.

    Search for Journal Articles in CFCC Databases

    Magazines vs Trade Journals vs Scholarly Journals

    Here's what to look for:

    CRITERIA POPULAR MAGAZINE TRADE JOURNAL SCHOLARLY JOURNAL
     

     

     

     

    Content Secondary discussion of someone else's research; may include personal narrative or opinion; general information, purpose is to entertain or inform. Current news, trends and products in a specific industry; practical information for professionals working in the field or industry. In-depth, primary account of original findings written by the researcher(s); very specific information, with the goal of scholarly communication.
    Author Author is frequently a journalist paid to write articles, may or may not have subject expertise. Author is usually a professional in the field, sometimes a journalist with subject expertise. Author's credentials are provided; usually a scholar or specialist with subject expertise.
    Audience General public; the interested non-specialist. Professionals in the field; the interested non-specialist. Scholars, researchers, and students.
    Language Vocabulary in general usage; easily understandable to most readers. Specialized terminology or jargon of the field, but not as technical as a scholarly journal. Specialized terminology or jargon of the field; requires expertise in subject area.
    Graphics Graphs, charts and tables; lots of glossy advertisements and photographs. Photographs; some graphics and charts; advertisements targeted to professionals in the field. Graphs, charts, and tables; very few advertisements and photographs.
    Layout & Organization Informal; may include non-standard formatting. May not present supporting evidence or a conclusion. Informal; articles organized like a journal or a newsletter. Evidence drawn from personal experience or common knowledge. Structured; includes the article abstract, goals and objectives, methodology, results (evidence), discussion, conclusion, and bibliography.
    Accountability Articles are evaluated by editorial staff, not experts in the field; edited for format and style. Articles are evaluated by editorial staff who may be experts in the field, not peer-reviewed*; edited for format and style. Articles are evaluated by peer-reviewers* or referees who are experts in the field; edited for content, format, and style.
    References Rare. Little, if any, information about source materials is given. Occasional brief bibliographies, but not required. Required. Quotes and facts are verifiable.
    Paging Each issue begins with page 1. Each issue generally begins with page 1. Page numbers are generally consecutive throughout the volume.